T-mac Loud And Clear

NBA PLAYOFFS - Magic vs. Hornets

Mcgrady Talks Up Storm With Guarantee Of Game 5 Friday

After spending two hours Sunday doing some unorthodox back-and-stomach stretching exercises, Tracy McGrady wanted to make a couple of things perfectly clear:

He will be in Charlotte for a Game 5 on Friday. He is still the best player in this series.

Although point guard Baron Davis was the bigger star last week, leading the Hornets to a 2-1 lead in this best-of-five first-round playoff series, McGrady vowed to change the tone Tuesday night in Game 4 at TD Waterhouse Centre.

"I'm going to guarantee that there will be a Game [5] in Charlotte,'' McGrady said after his workout Sunday. "And if I have to, I'll play all 48 minutes to make it happen.''

McGrady has been among the leading scorers in the NBA playoffs, averaging 29.3 points, but Davis has been more complete, averaging 24 points, nine assists and 8.3 rebounds.

"There's no question I'm the better player,'' McGrady said. "He is definitely one of the best, but he is not the best.''

Davis virtually willed the Hornets to their Game 3 overtime victory in Orlando, and a repeat performance Tuesday would end the Magic season in an extremely disappointing fashion -- back-to-back losses at home.

McGrady had a game-high 37 points Saturday, but he failed to score in overtime when Davis won the game by scoring nine points. He finished with 33 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, completely overshadowing McGrady's performance.

While McGrady has led the Magic in scoring all three games in this series, Davis did falter in Game 2, which is the only game Charlotte lost. When the Hornets won Game 1, Davis had 28 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

"He [Davis] just said, `I'm going to take over this game,' and he did,'' marveled Magic veteran Horace Grant. "That's something only the great players can do, guys like Kobe, T-Mac. That's why we have to find some way to get the ball out of his hands.''

Although McGrady was guarding Davis much of the time Saturday, Magic point guard Darrell Armstrong will get that assignment Tuesday. While McGrady normally guards the opposing team's best scorer, the Magic are concerned that he wore down physically in Game 3 trying to carry the team at both ends of the floor.

"I can't do this all by myself,'' McGrady said. "Baron has it easier. He has lots of help. Look at his team. Look at my team. He has guys that can score, that can rebound every night. Our guys have been sort of inconsistent at that. We're searching for guys who can rebound every night. But we're going to make this work.''

The Magic are hoping that Armstrong, with his high-energy style and plenty of help, can keep Davis from dominating again.

"We just can't let him dictate the game like he did, like he has done the whole series,'' Armstrong said. "I've just got to match his energy, keep him in front me and make him work. No question, he's a great player. He makes them go. But I've been guarding great point guards for a long time.''

With Armstrong on Davis, the Magic likely will use McGrady either on David Wesley or the George Lynch/Stacy Augmon small-forward combination. Monty Williams or Troy Hudson will start against the one McGrady doesn't guard.

Yet the key to the Hornets remains Davis. At 6-3, 220 pounds, was too quick for McGrady Saturday in the open court, but he also should be able to overpower Armstrong close to the basket.

"I'm going to take the blame if things don't go right here. As the leader, that's my job. And that's fair,'' McGrady said. "But carrying the load every night isn't easy. It's tough. We need other people stepping up. I'm confident now that will happen. These are the guys on my team, and these are the guys who have to help me.''

Both McGrady and Davis were slowed earlier in the series by sore lower backs, but they still have managed to raise the level of their games. The Magic brought in a specialist from Vancouver to work with McGrady. The Hornets brought a personal masseuse for Davis.

"I thought Tracy took a step backward defensively in Game 3,'' said Magic Coach Doc Rivers. "But other than that, he's been awesome, doing everything for us. I'm still partial to Tracy. Baron is a great player. He has tremendous will at the end of games, a Jordan-type will."

In Game 3, Davis had five teammates also reach double figure scoring. McGrady had four. The Hornets, though, held a commanding 52-38 rebound advantage. The Charlotte reserves also dominated the Magic reserves.

Although McGrady and Davis won't be guarding each other in Game 4, it's still those two who will dictate what happens if their supporting casts offset each other.